My novel about London, murder, mayhem, and a female killer!

About Me

Matt Fullerty is the author of novels THE KNIGHT OF NEW ORLEANS (available 28 September 2011), THE MURDERESS AND THE HANGMAN (available 14 February 2012) and the forthcoming AMERICAN CON ARTIST (October 2012). A graduate of Oxford University, the University of East Anglia and a PhD in English from GW, he has published reviews, articles and interviews for The Daily Mail, The St. Ann's Review, BBC Radio London and the Discovery Channel's Deadly Women TV series. In 2011 he attended the Vermont Studio Center on an Artist's Grant.
Matt is Lecturer in English at George Washington University (GW) in Washington, DC, and recently taught Creative Writing at the University of London. He currently teaches DC police and FBI agents improved writing skills in GW's Police Science B.A.
Matt divides his time between Arlington, Virginia and Cambridge, England.
http://www.mattfullerty.com
http://www.theknightofneworleans.com
http://www.themurderessandthehangman.com

Deadly Women (with Matt Fullerty)

Monday, June 08, 2009

Dear England, right now I'm learning to scuba dive. I've always been a fan of snorkelling, tooling around at the beach as a kid along the rocks at some bay, looking for brightly-colored fish. It turns out scuba-diving is the best way to sea these critters, and perhaps a turtle or two. Why didn't I think of this before?

Well, the thing about scuba diving is that you have to get "certified" and the best organization to do this with is called PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors). It's the most internationally recognized - giving you the best chance of being able to dive in new places, on new adventures! I am currently learning through the National Diving Center in Washington, DC.

When you have all your equipment on, it can be pretty daunting. Actually, the hardest thing in scuba is probably trying to stay balanced, as the tank is pretty heavy. But you get used to this after a few dives. So far I've dived once in a swimming pool, and I'm only half way through my PADI certification. But in two weeks I'm off to Bainbridge, Pennsylvania to dive 60 feet in a murky quarry - the four "open water" dives I need to complete the course. Then it's Puerto Rico in July baby for some real tropical diving!

I added these pictures to feed my idea of how beautiful diving will be. As yet, I have no idea. But from the training videos, it looks pretty amazing - shoals of fish everywhere, coral, massive sea plants to get entangled in, and even the odd shark nosing past (do not disturb). I can't wait!